


Shinobi

by GloriaMundi



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Feudal Japan, C16, Community: au_bingo, Gen, Historical
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-15
Updated: 2011-02-15
Packaged: 2017-10-15 16:34:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/162742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GloriaMundi/pseuds/GloriaMundi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shinobi: doing something secretly, travelling incognito. A ronin comes by night to a lord's castle, warning of a ninja assassin ...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shinobi

It was long past nightfall when the guards heard the approach of a single horseman, his mount stumbling on the rocky path that led to the castle's gate.

"Who comes riding in the dark?" called the commander of the guard.

"My name is Eimuzu," was the reply.

"Your master?" For the horseman had drawn closer and the commander could see his topknot, his flamboyantly-patterned kimono and the oddly mismatched haori that he wore over it, his katana and his wakizashi. This was no feckless beggar, but a noble samurai.

"My lord was Saito, but he is dead, slain by foul assassins. I am ronin now."

"We need no lordless samurai here," cried the commander of the guard. "Begone, and avenge your lord's death or find your own: it is of no import to me."

"I have reason to believe," said the ronin Eimuzu, "that Lord Ryōshi, whose castle I take this to be, is the next target of the ninja who slew Lord Saito. I would be disloyal to the memory of my lord if I let his murderer kill another honourable man."

The commander was wary -- he did not care for the inference that he was oblivious to the threat of ninja assassins infiltrating his domain and threatening his lord -- but there was something strangely compelling about the ronin's manner. "You may enter," the commander told him. "I will have you conducted to Lord Ryōshi, and if he gives credit to your words then perhaps he will find some use for your service."

"I thank you," said Eimuzu, bowing his head. He dismounted gracefully from his horse and, leading it by the rein, followed one of the younger guards towards the stables.

* * *

Some hours later, rested and refreshed and with a bellyful of rice and yams, Eimuzu was brought before Lord Ryōshi to tell of the murder of Lord Saito and his subsequent discovery that the ninja assassin responsible for that death intended to target Lord Ryōshi himself.

"I do not know his name," said Eimuzu humbly, "and perhaps he has none. But he is a formidable opponent: it is my eternal shame that he bested me using only a fishing-net and a flute. He is so agile that he seems to float upon the air like a leaf, and --"

"Enough of your excuses," snapped Lord Ryōshi. "Why did he let you live?"

"To bear the burden of my shame," replied Eimuzu. "But the nameless one made a great mistake, lord: he spoke of you, and said that he would call upon you before the moon was full."

Lord Ryōshi glanced at the window, where the silver moon hung heavy and almost round. "The full moon is a time of death."

"So it is said," murmured Eimuzu. "I fear that you will be the ninja's next victim, lord: I could not save lord Saito, but I hope that I may slay his murderer and thus avenge his death."

"And you have come here to catch your ninja," mused Lord Ryōshi. "How do I know that I can trust you?"

"My life is in your hands," said the ronin simply, holding out his own hands to show them empty, weaponless. "You may strike me down with impunity: I have no lord to call down vengeance on you."

"You will be my bodyguard," announced Lord Ryōshi, "and the hours of darkness shall be your day. If this ninja should evade you and reach my chamber, I will leave orders for your execution."

"My lord is wise."

"It will not be a quick death," said Lord Ryōshi, with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

"My lord," said Eimuzu again.

* * *

At midnight the guards heard shouting from that part of the castle where Lord Ryōshi's private rooms were to be found. There was a fearful outcry: screaming, cursing in a tongue they did not know, the sonorous carillon of weapon against weapon. The commander of the guard rushed towards his lord's apartments, katana in hand. Harsh breathing could be heard from beyond the ornate carved doors as the guards forced them open.

"There is an intruder!" cried a voice, and the ronin Eimuzu staggered out of the gloom. Blood streaked his face; one arm hung useless by his side. "He is here, in this room: I had him, but ... quickly, before he can reach Lord Ryōshi!"

The commander peered past Eimuzu into the shadows. Something had flickered at the edge of his vision, but he could not see what it might have been. A moth, perhaps, or a curtain fluttering in the breeze.

The guards, with the assistance of the ronin Eimuzu -- who seemed to think that this alleged assassin could hide within a locked chest, or behind a small but perfect Buddha, or within the very hangings of Lord Ryōshi's bed -- searched every corner of their lord's apartments, but they found no trace of the mysterious ninja.

"Your perseverance does you credit, Eimuzu," said Lord Ryōshi at last, stifling a yawn. "But if the ninja was here, he is here no longer."

"I felt the sting of his knife --" protested Eimuzu.

"You have served me bravely," said Lord Ryōshi. "I shall sleep the better for knowing that you stand guard with such courage and fervour."

"But --"

"I shall sleep. The better," said Lord Ryōshi, dismissing his guards with an imperious gesture. "And you, Eimuzu, will wake."

* * *

An hour after midnight, the moon sunk down behind the cedar trees beyond the castle wall, and the night became darker. A slim figure clad all in black slipped out from behind the bed-hangings and nodded silently to Eimuzu, who -- his wounds apparently no longer troubling him -- grinned back.

A little later, there was a brief flurry of movement and an ugly rattle of breath, cut off abruptly.

"Lord Saito will be content," murmured Eimuzu, divesting himself of his outer garments to reveal close-fitting apparel of some dark, plain fabric.

"Lord Saito shall be lord here too," retorted his companion. "And we two shall be free."

The curtains at the open window billowed in the night breeze.

* * *

At sunrise, Lord Ryōshi's valet found his master lying cold and open-eyed amid his bloody sheets. He wore the flamboyant silk kimono and haori of the ronin Eimuzu: that, and the ronin's lame horse, were all that remained to mark the sojourn of Lord Saito's masterless samurai.

When the full moon rose  
the banners of Lord Saito  
decked the castle walls.

-end-

**Author's Note:**

> "Ryōshi" is a direct translation of "fisher".  
> "Shinobi" is a word for "ninja", but also means "doing something secretly; travelling incognito."


End file.
